Many people have the desire to experience fight the way birds do—to have direct control over the movements, to feel the floating sensation without much burden. There are many devices that attempt to allow a person to experience flight or reduced gravity environments, but most fail to deliver the desired qualities of the flying experience.
Some of these devices partially counterbalance the rider through pulleys or counterweights, allowing them to jump and land as if they were in a lower gravity environment. However, once the rider has left the ground, the rider has no control over his motion. He can not, for instance, come close to the ground, and then choose to float upwards again without touching the ground.
Some other devices allow a user to control his elevation on a counterbalance arm by operating a mechanism that changes the location of a weight on the counterbalance arm. While these devices give the user some control, they do not provide a very natural or transparent interface to the user. Also, these devices generally allow the user to move in one plane and do not provide a full range of motion. It would be preferable if the user could control his motion by merely moving his body, without operating any mechanisms. In addition, it would be desirable for the user to have a full range of motion.